Documented
The charter of 1459, the court church and the excavated foundations. The oldest walls on the site date from the 14th century, before the city appears in writing.
02Places of BUCARESDAVA
The Princely Court
The political centre from which Bucharest first enters the surviving written record, on September 20, 1459.
- Shown
- c. 1459
- Period
- 14th century to 1798
- Status
- Ruins and church
- Location
- Strada Franceză, Old Town
01The history
Where Bucharest is first named.
On 20 September 1459 Vlad III, the prince remembered as Vlad the Impaler, issued a charter in Slavonic from the fortress of Bucharest. It is the oldest known document to name the city. Excavations on the site have since found foundations from the 14th century and stretches of wall from his reign, 1456 to 1462.
A century later Mircea Ciobanul rebuilt the court as a princely palace and founded its church, dedicated to the Annunciation, which still stands. Ottoman troops burned the court in 1595. Matei Basarab rebuilt it, and under Constantin Brâncoveanu, who ruled from 1688 to 1714, it reached its largest extent, about 25,000 square metres.
A fire in 1718, an earthquake in 1738 and the war of 1768–1774 left it badly damaged. In 1775–1776 Alexandru Ipsilanti built a new residence on Dealul Spirii, and the old buildings became known as Curtea Veche, the Old Court. In 1798 Constantin Hangerli put them up for auction.
- 1459
Vlad III issues the first charter that names Bucharest.
- 1550s
Mircea Ciobanul rebuilds the court and founds its church.
- 1595
Ottoman troops burn the court.
- c. 1700
Under Brâncoveanu the court reaches its largest extent.
- 1776
The princes move to the new court on Dealul Spirii.
- 1798
Constantin Hangerli puts the old court up for auction.
02Three ways to read it
What is known, what is told, what is imagined.
Legend
Bucharest is said to take its name from Bucur, a shepherd in most versions, an outlaw or a prince in others. The story was long thought to begin in the 19th century, until a manuscript of 1761 by the missionary Blasius Kleiner turned up with it already written down.
BUCARESDAVA
Chapter II is set in 1459, the year the city enters the written record. The court is where that record was made.
03Today
What remains today.
The ruins of the palace, with the 14th-century foundations and the walls from Vlad’s reign, form the Curtea Veche open-air museum on Strada Franceză. The museum closed for consolidation and restoration in November 2015. The court church beside it is still in use, and Manuc’s Inn, built in 1808, stands across the street.